June 7, 1779 - Where in the #%&$ is Francis Wiseley?

    Colonel Thomas Taylor noted that Francis Wiseley had missed the militia meeting - again. The colonel was in charge of the Edgemont Company Militia of  Chester County Pennsylvania. His June 7, 1779 report would show that Francis Wiseley had not attended the required militia meeting...again. But that was not a new thing with Francis. Nor would it be the last time he "skipped' the required militia meetings.
     Francis is one of the earliest ancestors we know much about, other than his brother John. John Wiseley moved to Lancaster Ohio about 1800 and is the same John many of us share as a great great etc Grandfather, which makes Francis one of our great great etc Uncles.
      Francis never married. There is no mention of wife or children anywhere. Not in wills or any other document that we have concerning him.  We do know that he was listed as a freeman (not indentured servant) and worked as a tanner. But in the lists of Single men of 1765 it lists only William Wiseley, brother to Francis and John. Francis may have been too young to list or was not living in the same area as William. William was also a bachelor. At least he does not mention a wife or children in his will but does leave money to John's kids and his step brother's children.   
     But back to the militia and why Francis skipped the meetings. Pennsylvania responded to George Washington's 1776 call for militia units to be established in the colonies. On March 17, 1777 the Pennsylvania assembly passed an act that required every able bodied man between 18 and 53 to serve in local militias. There were some exemptions for special occupations and usually apprentices and indentured servants did not have to serve. But everyone else did, and Francis Wiseley was not exempt.
      The act also specified a fine of 3 pounds 10 Shillings for failure to attend militia meetings. Perhaps this is a good place to talk about British money and the pound, shilling and pence used during colonial days. There is some confusion about money in the colonial days as I have seen the fine for Frances reported as $3.10, instead of  £3.10
     The pound was a considerable amount in colonial days. £60 being about a years wages for common folks according to some historians.  Whatever it's value it was considerably more than the same in dollars and cents. There were 20 shillings to a pound and 12 pence to a shilling. So a pound has 240 pence. The odd number has some basis as there was a time when 240 pence coins weighed a pound.  Several British slang terms are associated with the old monetary system; bob, quid, ha-penny, and others. Currently the pound is approximately worth $1.50 and fluctuates between $1.25 and $1.75   In the early 1900's it was closer to $5 and has changed drastically over the centuries.  If interested you can find more about the British pound online.
      Back to Francis and his militia fines.  The 1779 fine with Colonel Thomas Taylor was listed as £31.10.0 (31 pounds, 10 shillings, 0 pence)  That seems like a huge sum and may have been just a copy error considering the fine was £3.10.0  for missing a meeting and some militia only met once a year.  This fine was for missing a meeting with the Chester county - Edgemont company.
     Francis may have moved during 1779 as he also has a fine of £10.2.52 for missing the militia meeting of the Chester County, 6th Battalion, 3rd Company. Whether he moved or not he did get two militia fines in 1779
     In 1780 he is listed as being in Chester County- 7th Battalion - 2nd Company. His fine was left blank.
      In 1782 he was back in the Edgemont company under Capt Calvert. He is listed as a private and his fine was £2.16.0
      Why did Francis miss so many militia meetings?  A book entitled 'Early Church Records of Deleware  County' (PA) may have the answer.

Francis was a Quaker! (Friends) No wonder he missed militia meetings!


 Well what do we know about Francis?  A few years ago I did not even know he existed for sure.  I saw his name in family trees but had no other evidence he existed, and no way to tie him to my line of Wiseley's.  The next time I was in Ft Wayne, Indiana at the Allen County Library I decided to spend some time searching for Francis. It took about three days because I did not know where he lived, if he was married, where he was buried, etc etc.  Then I discovered a reference to a Francis Wiseley in a Friends Magazine from 1835.  The Allen County Library had the magazine bound and on their shelves.         

Finally I knew where Francis had lived. Delaware County, PA. I also knew he must be a member of the Friends (Quakers) movement, as his obituary appeared in their magazine. I was a little concerned that they gave the barest, most minimal obituary possible. The obituary of the woman listed above his had a much more distinctive write up. What was I to make of that?  Was she a real mover and shaker (no pun intended) in Quaker circles?  Was Francis not held in good esteem in the Friends moveent? Or was there some other cause for the differance in the obituaries. Perhaps obituary space was purchased in the magazine?  Just makes me wonder. 
     My next search was in the history of Delaware county.  It didn't take long to learn some very interesting things about Francis and the history of the area. 

From "History of Delaware County, PA" by H G Ashmead -1884

          Abraham Sharpless and Francis were friends and business partners from before 1800 until Francis died in 1835.  After that Abraham sold his business within the next year. I read several histories that seemed to have conflicting dates until I realized that Abraham purchased a forge and operated the forge for a short time then moved on to other businesses near the original forge. The different dates refer to different business interests. 

    And from another history we read this additional information

The important information we can glean here is the name of the forge. In 1776 it became known as the Sarum Forge. Also Abraham operated several businesses, which he sold in 1836 to Willcox. 

It takes a little study to understand all that is happening in these histories. First Francis was connected with Abraham Sharpless long before 1807.  That was when Francis was connected to the mills in the upper seat. Marcus Hook was a port on Delaware Bay about 9 miles south of Glen Mills, just a few miles west of Philadelphia.

 
http://www.waymarking.com/gallery/image.aspx?f=1&guid=1a5cf904-d3e0-49d4-8c72-50da71e94205




Francis Wiseley signed several wills as a witness. 
In 1812 he was a witness on the will of Marsha Sharpless. 
In 1792 he was a witness on Abraham Hoopes will. Hoopes ws the Elder of the Edgemont meeting, which indicates Francis must have been in good standing with the Friends at that time. 
In 1816 he was a witness to Catherine Sharpless will, the wife of Abraham Sharpless. 
    In the following will we learn another interesting piece of information about Francis.  Study it a little (where my finger is pointing) before scrolling down to what I noticed. What do you find interesting here? 

The above shows Francis could not write. He signed with a mark.  In all the wills his signature is in the hand of the clerk who drew up the will, but this one is the only one that mentions his mark.  


    Now that we have learned  Francis Wiseley did live and work in Delaware county the question remains? Was he kinfolk?   
    In order to get this posted I will let that question remain unanswered. (Ok if you must know yes he is kinfolk..I will show the documentation later. (See May 2012 )  
    

     Again thank you for reading my blog and I do apologize for not posting the last couple weeks.  This one took a little more time to research than I had to spare.